From the Gardens Registrar: Water Lines in the 700’s and 900’s Are Back in Service; Path Mowing – Move Your Hose!; Plant Swap June 3; Bad Plant of the Week;  Rhubarb; Are You Still Planning to Garden? Row Cover Still Available

Hello Gardeners,

WATER LINES – The water is back on in the 700’s and 900’s. Thank you, Will!

PATH MOWING – Path mowing has begun this week, and will continue throughout the season. Mowing is hard work and very time-consuming, whether it’s done with a scythe, a tractor, or a gas mower. Our garden workers do not have the time to keep stopping to move hoses, or other items left carelessly in the paths. So, PLEASE do not leave your HOSE in the path, and do not leave bricks, wood, furniture, piles of weeds, milk jugs, tools, bottles, gloves, books, sandwiches, children, OR ANYTHING ELSE in the paths. Thank you.

PLANT EXCHANGE JUNE 3 – On Sunday, June 3, starting at 10:00am, we will have an informal plant exchange at the Eagle Heights Garden, at the Arbor. If you have extra plants to share, or hope to pick up some plants you’re missing, stop in. We’ll also have more free seeds for summer crops – summer and winter squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons.

BAD PLANTS – Today’s “bad plant” is the Canada Thistle, one of the two worst weeds in our gardens. (The other one is Wire Grass.) Thistle is invasive and persistent. It’s hard to get rid of it by digging it up, because if you leave a tiny bit of the root in the soil, it can grow a new plant. (This is one reason we no longer provide roto-tilling of garden plots – that just spread the thistles and wire grass around.) It propagates both by roots, and by seeds, which can spread over large distances.

It takes persistence on the gardeners’ part, but you can get rid of them eventually, if you don’t give up. This website has some good information: http://www.bigblogofgardening.com/thistle-organic-control-garden/  Whatever you do, don’t let thistle flower – cut off the flower buds as soon as they appear, and keep them cut.

RHUBARB – One of the first harvestable crops in our garden is rhubarb. It’s very easy to grow – once established, it comes up every year and provides you with a delicious, if not terribly versatile, vegetable, which is treated as a fruit.  Rhubarb is very good for you, with lots of vitamins and minerals, (although once you add enough sugar to it to make it palatable, I don’t know how healthy it ends up.) Just use the stalks; the leaves are poisonous, but you can use them in your plot as mulch. Here’s a website that’s all about rhubarb, including how to grow it, and lots of ways to cook it:  https://www.rhubarb-central.com/

ARE YOU STILL PLANNING TO GARDEN? – Many gardeners already have lots of vegetables coming up. Others have cleared their gardens, and are ready to plant, as soon as time and weather allow. However, there are some plots sitting completely unworked, covered with weeds and tall grass. If you haven’t started working in your plot yet, it’s time now! With all the rain we’ve been having, weeds are growing like crazy. And, if you’re realizing that you’re not going to have time to garden this year, send me an email right away. Don’t let the plot continue to sit. We have a waiting list, and I can easily find another gardener for your plot.

ROW COVER – We still have ten pieces of row cover left. If you want some, email me, and we’ll arrange to meet each other for a sale. $5 per piece, cash only, and exact change please. We won’t be ordering any more until next year.

Happy Gardening,

Kathryn